‘Google splits off Google Shopping’

Google has decided to split off its own shopping service, Google Shopping, so it would meet demands from the European Union. The EU wasn’t particularly happy with how Google displayed product search results, prioritizing results from Google Shopping in favor of results from competitors.

So now Google splits off Google Shopping, Bloomberg reports. It will create a standalone service, which will be required to bid against rivals for ads shown on the top of its search page. Bloomberg, which bases its news on sources who asked not to be named as the negotiations are private, says the shopping service will remain part of Google, but that it will operate separately and use its own revenues to bid for ads.

€2.4 billion fine

Google got a record-breaking €2.4 billion fine by the European Commission in June, after it was accused of abusing its dominant position and promoting its own comparison service Google Shopping over those of its competitors.

90 days to change behavior

The European Commission gave Google 90 days to change its behavior and that deadline ends this Friday. If the deadline won’t be met, Google will have to pay up to 5 percent of its parent company Alphabet’s global daily revenue.